Real-world outcomes of long-term efficacy of T-DM1 after discontinuation due to limiting toxicity in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.
Authors: Daniella Audi Blotta, Jessica Ribeiro Gomes, Shermann Brandão Rodrigues Moreira, Danielle Fortes Colosimo, Julio Araujo, Carolina Cavalcanti Gonçalves Ferreira, Elaine Aparecida Forgiarini, Antonio C. Buzaid
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2023)

e13034 Background: Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) are widely used in the treatment of breast cancer (BC). In our service, we observed that a significant number of patients (pts) with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treated with T-DM1 had long-lasting response and survival rates, even after discontinuing T-DM1 due to limiting toxicity. However, data are scarce regarding its long-term benefit. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate the long-term efficacy of T-DM1 in the treatment of HER2-positive MBC. Methods: Medical records of pts with HER2-positive MBC treated with T-DM1 between September 2013 and January 2023 were reviewed. We analyzed data in the overall population and in the subgroup of pts who discontinued T-DM1 due to only limiting toxicity and did not have disease progression or death for at least 12 months, without receiving other subsequent lines of treatment. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) from the start of the treatment with T-DM1 to disease progression or death for the overall population, and from the time of T-DM1 discontinuation to disease progression or death for the aforementioned subgroup. Secondary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR) and toxicity. Results: A total of 73 pts were included. In the overall population, ORR was 82.6%, median PFS was 12.7 months (CI95% 8-16) and median OS was 53.9 months (CI95% 34-73). 10 (13.6%) pts had T-DM1 discontinued due to only limiting toxicity and had no disease progression or death for at least 12 months. In this specific subgroup, 2 pts received T-DM1 as first line, 6 pts as second line, and 2 as third or more lines. At the start of T-DM1, 5 pts had visceral metastasis (3 liver, 2 lung), and 2 had only leptomeningeal involvement. Median age was 57 years (IQR 49-70) and median T-DM1 duration was 30 months (IQR 12-45). At the time of T-DM1 discontinuation, 9 pts presented complete response (CR) and 1 presented partial response (PR). 5 pts maintained CR, with no evidence of disease progression or death throughout the analyzed period. The PFS of these 5 pts, from the time of T-DM1 discontinuation to the last evaluation, was 35.6, 37.9, 40.5, 42.7 and 68.5 months. In the entire subgroup, median PFS was 22.5 months, 5-year OS was 66.7% and median OS was not reached. The adverse events that led to the T-DM1 discontinuation were thrombocytopenia (10%), nausea, vomiting and fatigue (10%), pneumonitis (20%), hepatic pseudocirrhosis (20%) and peripheral neuropathy (40%). Conclusions: Our experience suggests that pts with HER2-positive MBC who had T-DM1 discontinued due to limiting toxicity may derive long-term benefit. Further prospective studies are warranted to evaluate our findings, also including other ADC.